At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what or who copies Apple... if Apple was smart, they would concentrate on creating the absolute best products they can muster, instead of spending energy and time worrying about others and fighting off the generics in courts round the world. With touchID, Sapphire screens and whatever they have going on, if they just innovate, they will stay ahead... instead, they choose to fight off copycats for old and tired technologies that are now common.

Besides, the copycats are worried about profit margins more than Apple and "can't afford" to include sapphire screens and other "luxury" materials within their products. The MiPad is a plastic fantastic.

It's a modified android variant with all the Google play parts taken out. It is upto v5 which is based upon android 4.3.x. thus it's not a Google creation

It may be a f****d variant of Android, but had Google never created Android, a rip-off of iOS in the first place, would it exist? ..... I think that's the sentiment that many here feel. Google are the real evil doers, 'the enablers', in all these Apple IP rip-offs at the end of the day.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

It may be a f****d variant of Android, but had Google never created Android, a rip-off of iOS in the first place, would it exist? ..... I think that's the sentiment that many here feel. Google are the real evil doers, 'the enablers', in all these Apple IP rip-offs at the end of the day.

It is inevitable that the design of all computers, tablets, phones, TVs, cars, airplanes, buses converge towards the most appropriate designs. If Google hadn't written Android, someone else would have.

I took my Tahoe into the dealership yesterday for an oil change. They apparently got rid of their loaner car program and now used Enterprise Rental cars. This time my loaner was a Hyundai. Unsurprisingly, it was very much like my BMW. All the controls were exactly the same. Sure it is a copy of a BMW but it was easy to drive because it was exactly the same. If it had a set of levers instead of a steering wheel, I would have been in trouble.

The mainland Chinese have no shame when it comes to theft of intellectual property. It shows how primitive their culture is. The upper class more educated Chinese however understand this and wouldn't be caught dead with this fake or even a Samsung.

Have you seen the latest laptop design from HP and Dell? You might notice how close they resemble a MacBook Pro. What kind of culture do you suppose exist here in the land of IP protection?

Wow!
My Chinese gf actually was laughing when she saw the ad, said that I feel ashamed by my country and the government that it actually allow suck a thing, wait... What if her laugh was actually fake 😐

Thanks to Xiaomi, I now have a real-world, taken-to-its-logical-conclusion example of what would happen if patents were abolished. I'll be making a local copy of this to have for future reference if/when they are put out of business.

It may be a f****d variant of Android, but had Google never created Android, a rip-off of iOS in the first place, would it exist? ..... I think that's the sentiment that many here feel. Google are the real evil doers, 'the enablers', in all these Apple IP rip-offs at the end of the day.

I think someone would imitate iOS, even if Android never existed. It may be a UI sitting atop some other OS like Windows CE, or Linux (webOS or even QNX), but it would exist, down to the delicate fonts and rounded cornered icons. Here's why:

Ever seen the Goophone? It's physically identical copy to the iPhone 5/5s design (iPhone 5 cases will fit the thing), down to a knock off UI sitting atop Android, but otherewise, there's nothing visibly Androidy about it except the choppy UI animations.

It is inevitable that the design of all computers, tablets, phones, TVs, cars, airplanes, buses converge towards the most appropriate designs. If Google hadn't written Android, someone else would have.

I took my Tahoe into the dealership yesterday for an oil change. They apparently got rid of their loaner car program and now used Enterprise Rental cars. This time my loaner was a Hyundai. Unsurprisingly, it was very much like my BMW. All the controls were exactly the same. Sure it is a copy of a BMW but it was easy to drive because it was exactly the same. If it had a set of levers instead of a steering wheel, I would have been in trouble.

Did it also have a round steering wheel, a up and down rectangular gas pedal on the right, and a sideways rectangular brake pedal on the left?

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

Yeah, that would really do a lot of good in communist Chinese courts against a Chinese company with many former communist party leaders now working as executives in the company. China and the other Asian countries are big enough that this company doesn't need to try and sell in the U.S. or Europe where Apple might be able to file a suit. As long as they sell in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and several other countries over there there is not a whole lot Apple can do about it.

Apple doesn't stand a chance in a Chinese court. These guys can do whatever they want to because they are covered by the Chinese government, and noone dares going up against them. God save us all when they decide to expand their territory (beyond Tibet).

Apple doesn't stand a chance in a Chinese court. These guys can do whatever they want to because they are covered by the Chinese government, and noone dares going up against them. God save us all when they decide to expand their territory (beyond Tibet).

Payees companies have no shame! Everyone seems to want to take the easiest path to fame and fortune, with no moral compass guiding them, or original thoughts! Typical China, "we'll make it just like that one, only cheaper"!

They even copied iPhone 5c colours and the background image colour gradient. What a shame.

Background: This company is Xiao Mi ("sea-aww me"). They copied about everything Apple has. They copied iPhone, called it Mi Phone or MI-3 (number denotes generations).

They copied iCloud, called it Mi Cloud.

They copied Apple TV, called it Xiao Mi Box.

They copied iOS, called it MIUI ("Mi User Interface")

They copied Apple ID, called it Xiao Mi ID.

They copied AirPlay, called it Mi Lian (Lian means link in Chinese)

There's probably a lot more but whatever they do, you'll feel a striking resemblance to Apple's way of doing things EXCEPT the price point. They somehow sell very cheap hardware but they are profiting via their services.

I ordered one, I have a friend in Hong Kong who's company does marketing for them and we got in some pre-orders for the first demo batch to be shipped in June, we even got a free 64GB Mini SD card, case and screen protector, unfortunatly they just had blue left, wanted the pink one, oh well. Yes, okay it's a copy, evil, etc. but those spec's were just to friggen amazing for a device that starts at 250 for the 16GB model and 275 for the 64GB. Nvidia K1, Android 4.4.2, 2048x1536 4:3 rez, Gorilla Glass 3, 2GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 5MP camera (front), 8MP Sony f/2.0 shooter(back) and a 64GB Class 10 SD Card, wow, I mean guys come on. MIUI is also probably one of the best Android skins out there if you had to use Android, my son has it installed on his Nexus 7 V2, even installed by himself, so proud. In all seriousness though even though this looks like an iPad Mini, the specs were just to good for me too pass up, the Nvidia K1 is an amazing CPU, if not the fastest available, to be determined though. I will let you all know how it is once it comes, I'm actually kind of excited, it's sooooo cute and powerful, will defiantly stick on a MIUI bunny sticker on the back, how could you not. I also bought two stuffed MIUI rabbits, T-Shirts and keychains, Xiaomi's web store is filled with so much cool bunny stuff that I went a little nuts. Don't be to mad at me, I just couldn't resist buying the fastest 8" Android tablet on the market for only 275 dollars, especially from Xiaomi as their phones are pretty top notch, well as far as Android phones are concerned.

Edited by Relic - 5/17/14 at 3:08pm

When I looked up "Ninjas" in Thesaurus.com, it said "Ninja's can't be found" Well played Ninjas, well played.

I hope Apple shuts this down hard. Everything about this has been lifted straight from Apple's designs, trade dress and brand voice.

This is about promising the experience of an Apple device at half the price. It won't deliver on the promise but the consumer isn't going to know that until Apple have been robbed of a sale.

I understand now why Apple is constantly pushing for ever thinner form factors. It's one of the only things copycats can't achieve using off-the-shelf parts.

Actually the Mi Pad is only .5mm thicker than the iPad Mini Retina, there are also a few Chinese company's releasing 7mm phones and tablets this month making them thinner than Apples offerings. Dont underestimate the Chinese. Though the Mi Pad is defiantly a iPad look alike there is nothing off the shelf about it, Xiaomi is a fairly large company and believe it or not a lot of development went into making this. This is not your typical Chinese knockoff company, they have Chinese government contracts which means Apple won't have a chance in suing them in China, also a big reason why you will not be able to buy this in the states.

When I looked up "Ninjas" in Thesaurus.com, it said "Ninja's can't be found" Well played Ninjas, well played.